Numerous types of toy banks have been developed to entertain and fascinate both children and adults when a coin is deposited into the bank. Such banks have included levers, wheels, toggles, ramps, etc., that are engaged by the coin falling through the bank to generate an element of animation to provide enjoyment, entertainment, etc. In this application, such banks may be referred to as "animated banks". Some examples of animated banks are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 270,868; 508,019; 2,804,719; and 3,313,477.
Some animated banks have been designed to provide the further feature of sorting different size coins into respective bins in the bank. Thus, the smallest diameter coins (e.g. a dime in U.S. currency) would be sorted in one bin, and larger diameter coins would be sorted in respective other bins. Some different types of banks that have been designed to provide both sorting and some kind of animation are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 270,868 and 3,313,477. In the bank of U.S. Pat. No. Des. 270,868 sorting is effected by a combination of rotatable wheels, pivotal ramps, and static ramps. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,313,477, sorting is effected by static ramps that move the coin along a zig-zag, inclined path, and a series of different size openings in a wall disposed along one of the ramps. In each of the foregoing banks, the front wall of the bank is transparent, to allow the movement of the coin to be observed, thereby providing animation as the coin moves along the ramps and/or engages the various elements.
In the applicant's experience, banks that produce both animation and coin sorting can present complex design problems that must be addressed in order to properly effect both animation and sorting. One problem is the need to control the manner in which elements move to produce the desired form of animation. That problem is particularly acute where, as in the present invention, a rotatable display member and a display wall each have respective parts of a composite image, and the animation depends on the speed of rotation of the display member relative to the display wall. Another problem is the need to properly control the movement and the speed of coins during the sorting operation, so that the coins are properly sorted in their respective bin. Still other considerations that need to be addressed are how to achieve both animation and sorting in a relatively compact package, and how to provide unique enough animation to fascinate the user.